Luis Castillo, SP, CIN
Castillo struck out 6 in 7 shutout IP against the Brave on Saturday, as he continues to try and turn around his season. In the month of June, Castillo owns a 1.71 ERA and 32:12 K:BB across 31.2 IP over his 5 starts. This still isn't the level he was at last year when he recorded an 11.44 K/9 across 70 IP, but it's light years better than where he was earlier in the season. Considering how bad he was over the first two months of the season, fantasy owners may still be hesitant to trust Castillo even after this solid stretch. But there's at least a chance that he has figured things out and put his awful start to the season behind him, enough that he deserves serious consideration if he is still available off the waiver wire.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT
McCutchen went 1-2 with 2 runs, 1 RBI, an 2 SB's against the Mets on Saturday, as he continues to have a strong month of June. Over the course of this month, McCutchen is hitting .305 with 6 HR's and 19 RBI and an exceptional 9:11 K:BB across 20 games. Overall, the veteran is having a strong season with 13 HR's 40 RBI, and 5 SB's over 69 games. His .227 BA is still weak, but that is largely the result of a .248 BABIP, and his xBA is a much more acceptable .255. The fact that his K% has dropped to 12.3% this month is another reason to be optimistic that his BA will rise.
Trevor Story, SS, COL
Story went 1-3 with a HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI, and a SB in a win over the Brewers on Saturday. After hitting just 5 HR's in his first 60 games this season, Story has finally discovered his power stroke, hitting 4 HR's over his last 5 games. Story is now hitting .342 with 7 XBH's, 10 RBI, and 5 SB's over his last 10 games, and perhaps most importantly, his EV is over 95 mph during that stretch after that number had fallen earlier in the season. It may be too late to reach 35 HR's for the 3rd time in 4 years, but Story is a good bet to provide all-around production during the 2nd half of the season.
Zach Thompson, SP, MIA
Thompson dominated the Nationals on Saturday, striking out 11 in 6 IP, while allowing 2 ER's on 4 hits and 2 BB's in the victory. After a so-so performance in his MLB debut, Thompson has been incredible over his last 3 starts, allowing just 2 ER's in 15 IP (1.20 ERA) with a 24:5 K:BB. He has worked exclusively as a reliever in the minors since 2018, but the Marlins have decided to use him as a starter and that decision has clearly paid off so far. He may not go deep into games, but you can't argue with what he's done in the small sample size so far.
Adam Wainwright, SP, STL
The resurgence of Adam Wainwright continued on Saturday, as the veteran allowed 1 ER in 6 IP and struck out 8 against the Pirates, en route to his 6th win of the season. Wainwright has now recorded at least 6 K's in 6 of his last 7 starts, and has a sparkling 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 48:11 K:BB across 46 IP over those 7 starts. He is having his best season since 2015, and nothing really suggests that the results are a fluke. His next start projects to be in Coors Field which isn't a great matchup, but the 39 year-old seems like a good play in most other scenarios.
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